The Alexandria Blizzard survived a determined comeback attempt by the North Iowa Bulls on the way to a 4-3 win.
A goal by Karson Kuntz put Alexandria up 4-2 in the third period, but North Iowa pulled to within one on Timothy Santopoalo's tally 18:29 into the third period.
Ian Eckland had two goals to lead the Blizzard to victory. Eckland found the back of the net 4:08 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Alexandria and again while 5:15 into the second to make the score 2-1 Alexandria.
Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 8:38 into the second period. Ten fighting penalties were dished out along with five game misconducts.
Alexandria forced its penalty killing units to work especially hard during the game, picking up seven minors and three majors for 59 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 28.0 minutes per game the Blizzard had been spending in the box.
Alexandria additionally got points from Ricky Seidel, who also racked up one goal and one assist. Other players who recorded assists for Alexandria were Garrett Skinner, who had three and Danny Pelzer, Kyle Kuntz, and Hunter Bowlin, who each chipped in one.
The Bulls racked up the penalties in the contest, and ended with six minors and three majors for 47 minutes in penalty time. North Iowa had been averaging 21.0 minutes in penalties per game. The Bulls could not produce up to they normal offensive output. North Iowa puts an average of 5.6 pucks into the net per game. The Bulls forced Alexandria goalie Chase Wilson to work between the pipes, taking 36 shots.
North Iowa also got points from James Hughes, who also tallied one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Tony Paulson also scored for North Iowa. In addition, North Iowa received assists from Eric Behrend, who had two and Chancie Hanson and Taylor Brown, who contributed one a piece.
Chase Wilson made 33 saves for the Blizzard on 36 shots. Alexandria registered one goal on three power play opportunities. For the Blizzard, Levi Erickson and Ryen Zerfas were ejected from the contest. Aaron Davis rejected 20 shots on goal for North Iowa. The Bulls registered one goal on five power play opportunities. Team's Patrick Sivets and Brandon Anderson were slapped with misconducts and ejected from the game.